Matt

It was a normal day for Matt. As usual, he'd open his eyes, blankly stared into the abyss of nothingness before getting up and headed for his daily routine of shower and breakfast. It was pin drop quiet, not even chatters could be heard, sans the occasional sounds made by animals. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and went outside.

    Cars were halted abruptly everywhere on the road, trash bins were overflowed and swarmed with flies, and stray animals were enjoying themselves without the fear of being chased off. After all, not a single person other than Matt was around.

    It has been 2 weeks since everybody else disappeared. He could clearly remember the day he last saw his beloved wife, Sarah. She was still asleep when he woke up, so he decided to surprise her with breakfast on bed. However, she was nowhere to be seen when he returned from the kitchen. He remembered searching for her frantically, shouting and even calling her phone. The call went unanswered, just like when he ghosted his ex after they broke up.

    After the initial shock, he realised that everyone else in the small town he lived at had vanished into thin air. There was no premonition, and they were gone in a blink of an eye. He freaked out and even attempted suicide, but it was unsuccessful. Thus, he decided to carry on living like a walking dead, alone and miserable.

    As he was taking his walk, he remembered that he ran out of tea so he headed to the nearest Econsave. Grabbing few cans of preserved food, he placed them in an empty trolley as he strolled down the aisle. The smell of rotting perishables was getting stronger. He wrinkled his brows at the stench and turned towards the drinks section. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a dark figure darting across the exit.

    "Hey! Stop!" He shouted excitedly and tailed after the figure. It seemed like a woman, or an adolescent, judging at the size of the body.

    He finally caught up to her as she was reaching the playground. Before he could grab hold of her, she turned and he saw her face clearly. His hand paused in midair and he stopped his pursuit. It was Sarah.

    She dashed towards the slide and hid at the small space under it. Tears sprang to his eyes as he was beyond relief to see his wife once more. He approached her and found out she was crying too, although for a different reason altogether. "Please don't hurt me," she sobbed.

    After consoling and promised that he wouldn't hurt her, he brought her home - their home. She had no memory about herself, nor Matt, so he tried his best to make her feel at home and comforted. However, she left her food untouched and locked herself in the room. He gave her all the space she needed.

    It was until midnight when Matt heard some weird noises coming from Sarah's room. He lit up a candle and went to check the source. The door to her room was slightly ajar so he curiously peeked in. He wasn't ready to see what was inside the room at all. He ran away in terror.

    She was mutilating a poor innocent rabbit. With an eerie smile on her face, she giggled as she hacked at the rabbit with an axe. When the light shone upon her, he could see the crazed look on her face. As he ran away, she started to cackle like a witch and chased after him. He threw the candle at her but it dropped, wiping out the only source of light he could use to see.

    Fortunately, he was familiar with his own house so he was able to navigate himself towards the door easily. He suddenly screamed in pain when he felt a blow at his shoulder. Collapsing near the kitchen countertop, he could see her approaching, as the moonlight shone through the windows. Sarah's face slowly morphed into his ex's. Shapeshifter, he thought bitterly.

    Pinning him down she raised the axe and attempted to hack at his neck. Before she could swing it, he whipped out a pump action shotgun and pulled the trigger. She threw her head back and laughed. "Fool! Guns do not work on me." She raised her axe again. He screamed.

    "Matt!" He opened his eyes. Sarah's face was inches from his and he scooted away in horror but restrained by some wires and tubes. As his mind cleared, he realised he was lying on a bed in the hospital. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for his wife's hand. His shoulder hurt.

    She was grinning at him. Keeping himself composed, he quickly scanned around for weapon of some sort. His eyes landed on the axe in her hand. He shut his eyes and braced for the pain.

    "Matt!" He opened his eyes. So, it repeated.

An Incident to be Solved

She walked into the house and noticed something was wrong. As she shut the door, the light was completely blocked and the whole house was submerged in darkness. It was eerily silent as she anticipated for its presence.

"Tap...tap...tap..."

Someone was lightly striking the handrail. She turned her head towards the direction of the sound and stared at... Nothing. A sigh of frustration escaped her lips. Apparently, the experiment failed. Again.

Jill was a research scientist, specialising in microorganisms. Her last experiment cost her her job, and her partner. No, he escaped Death, but he turned invisible. Nobody was able to detect his presence as he lost his voice too. Fortunately, she was able to identify him, as they had their own way of communication. Being each other's job partner for a decade certainly contributed to their tacit understanding.

Dipping her hand into a bucket, she approached the stairs and reached out for Jack, her hand dripping with glow-in-the-dark paint. She was unable to touch him physically anymore. Her hand grasped the air. The paint dripped onto the ground, leaving splatters of glowing uneven droplets. Irated, she grabbed the pail and emptied its content in the hope that at least the paint would end up on him.

"Please... Please... Please!"

Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She was kneeling on the floor, scooping the paint back to its container, while muttering the same mantra over and over again.

That was how the police found her. Yet the "paint" she was smeared in smelled rusty and it was coagulated. Upon further inspection, they found a body in the attic, completely drained of blood.

"Jack Crown, 40, was discovered at his former colleague's house. The victim was injected with a new prototype of bacteria which eventually drew out each drop of his blood from his body. The convicted, Jill Rowling, 38, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and would be admitted to Happiness Hospital for treatment."

Fancy a Ride?

The sounds were getting louder. She covered her ears in an attempt to block them out. Few loud bangs echoed, followed by muffled shouts and screams. Bam! Bam! Bam! Her heart beat erratically, as if it was in tune with the desperate knockings. Why? She asked herself...

It began like any other weekday, sunny and bright, ready for early risers to conquer the world. She left her house before dawn, taking her sweet time breathing in the fresh air concentrated with morning dew, then a vehicle stopped in front of her. Irate took over her as her hands trembled. A young man was behind the wheel.

"Hey, girl. Fancy a ride?" 

Her lips were pulled into a tight line and she navigated her way around the car, ignoring the man. Unsatisfied, he stepped on the gas, bringing the car to a stop right in front of her. She bent over to tighten her shoelaces, stood up straight, then dashed off the path so he wouldn't be able to stalk her with his car. Her plan was successful. He shouted in anger and got off the car to pursue her, unbeknownst that she was hiding behind a tall tree. When she was sure that he had gotten not too far, she quickly made a mad rush towards his car, dived onto the driver's seat and stomped hard on the accelerator. She even honked twice to bid him goodbye and she heard him roaring furiously upon finding out that he was tricked by a mere high school student.

***

After some time, the car ground to a halt - one of the tyres went flat. The door was jerked open and the guy dragged her out. "Hello, again!" He wrapped his fingers around her delicate neck and applied pressure. He was expecting whimpers, maybe helpless struggle against his strength, or panicked expression on her face which slowly turned red as the airway was obstructed, but her reaction surprised him. No, it terrified him. Chill ran down his spine and goosebumps broke out across his skin. She was smiling!

Then, he felt something cold pressed against his stomach. When he diverted his eyes downwards, she pulled back with all her might and headbutt him. He collapsed. Unfortunately, the knife didn't pierce through him. She carelessly swiped at his arm as she sheathed her weapon and then proceeded to haul him into the boot of the car.

The sounds were getting louder. She covered her ears in an attempt to block them out. Few loud bangs echoed, followed by muffled shouts and screams. Bam! Bam! Bam! Her heart beat erratically, as if it was in tune with the desperate knockings. Why? She asked herself. Karma. She answered as she put on her headphones, blocking all the sounds, and sighed contentedly.

'X' Marks the Spot

As Mark was about to throw away the old bottle, he saw that there was a piece of paper inside it. Curiosity got the best of him, so he decided to remove the mysterious paper from the bottle. Alas, he realized that there wasn't even an opening! As he was scrutinizing the possibility for something to be inserted into a completely sealed chamber, the bottle slipped from his sweaty palm, landed on a rough rock and then shattered into pieces. He bent down and fetched the paper carefully. It was a map with an 'X' drawn in the middle of the parchment. 

The sun had already set when he reached home. It was merely a tiny hut with simple single-sized bed placed at the corner of the room. A kitchenette was set at another corner of the room; a study table which acted as a dining table when necessary, was strategically positioned in the middle of the room. Mark didn't even bother to lock the door. Nobody in their right mind would break into his house. He did not even own a television nor refrigerator. There was nothing to steal.  That was what he thought until he brought the map home.

He studied the map late into the night and fell into a fitful sleep. In his dream, he was shouting desperately at the map for being confusing and illogical. The map unleashed a grim aura which enveloped him eventually. He jolted awake. The map was no longer on the table where he left it. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a petite figure dashed madly towards the door and into the dark. As quick as lightning, he stalked and managed to catch the sight of the thief. The chase lasted for a quarter of an hour. By then, he was panting heavily from the run. The figure stopped abruptly at the cliff and then jumped. He cried out in horror. Upon reaching the edge, he encountered a bright flash. It temporarily blinded him. He missed his footing and plunged into the blinding white light.

When he finally gained consciousness, the first thing that he laid his eyes on was a gorgeous lady. She smiled at him as he sat up. He inspected his surrounding and an eerie feeling washed over him. It was strangely familiar yet he couldn't place what was wrong. There was a flat-screen television, but it seemed to be mounted to the wall. The screen was wide and of high definition. The language sounded weird and unfamiliar. There were even words written across the bottom of the screen! What were those? He turned to look at the lady again and saw her holding something which looked similar to a rectangular case, but flatter and slimmer. She was doing some bizarre gestures, sweeping across the case and even tapping on it. After that, she put the item to her ear and started speaking into it. Was that a communication tool yet to be discovered by his country, or perhaps, was she just a loony?

A piece of news was broadcasted on the television. He was watching it half-heartedly until an information at the corner of the screen showed the current time and date. It was 19:44 on 18th of April 2024. He jumped to his feet and rushed towards the screen to verify the information. Impossible! He turned around, eyes unfocused, proceeded to grip the poor unsuspecting lady's shoulders and asked her the question he had already knew the answer to: What is the date today?

Mark, a newly-recruited English soldier in 1944, had escaped the war due to his cowardice. He was afraid of death, having lost his entire family to the Pearl Harbor incident. Thinking he had escaped the Grim Reaper, little did he know that he was brought to 2024 by the Goddess of Death herself.

Thirst

noun (person): Muammar                            noun (object): phone                            

noun (place): playground                             adjective (opinion): expensive

adjective (colour): pink                                adjective (size): big

adverb (manner): properly                            adverb (frequency): often

genre: romance                                             genre: mystery

verb (land): run                                             verb (water): drink

verb (air): fly                                                direct speech: "hi"

direct speech: "see you soon"

Alex was the best friend anyone could have. That was what I used to think before Muammar came into our lives. Then, they were the inseparable pair. My eyes glowed green with jealousy as I watched them hanging out at the big playground. It was unfair!

    "Hi!" I nearly jumped out of my skin when Alexa called out to me. She was Alex's fraternal twin sister, who was also my girlfriend. She followed my gaze towards the playground then pursed her lips. "What's so fascinating about Muammar?" 

    It wasn't the first time she questioned me or her brother, but she never paid great attention when admiring Muammar's beauty. He was pink. Only certain individuals would be able to see its real colour, I often reminded myself. They had to look at him properly. 

    Alex noticed us and waved at us to join them. "Race you there. See you soon, loser!" Alexa ran ahead of me and dived into her brother's arms. Muammar squealed in surprised. I ran my tongue over my dry lips as I edged nearer. Before anyone could stop me, I pounced at Muammar, sinking my teeth into his ankle as I savoured the metallic taste of blood flowing from his punctured wound. I often would rinse and drink a lot of water after my kill, but this time I didn't care. Pink blood tasted delicious.

    I heard a click and raised my head. There was a girl recording me with her phone. It looked expensive. Annoyed, I swiped at a stone. It flew towards the phone and the screen cracked due to the force. The girl ran off crying. The twins looked annoyed at me. I grinned in triumph, baring my teeth at them. Who cared about best friend or girlfriend when one could have a scrumptious once-in-a-lifetime feast?

Blast

I was hopeful about my new life. The moment I stepped into the class, everyone welcomed me warmly. It brought tears to my eyes. Everyone swarmed around me and greeted me enthusiastically. Questions were fired and I had a hard time digesting everything.

"OMG! Finally we have a new student!"

"Welcome to 5SC!"

"What's your name?"

"Where are you from?"

A whistle was blown. Everyone scrambled back to their seats. A beautiful lady walked into the class. She was my form teacher who taught us English. I liked her immediately.

"Settle down, everyone. Let me introduce you to a newly transferred student from Batu Pizza, Najdi." She turned to me, "There is an empty seat next to Amin. He is the classroom leader, so you may ask him for help if you have any doubts or questions." She continued, "The school camp will be held next weekend. It is compulsory for everyone to go. Please behave yourself and bring all the necessary items for camping..."

***

"Oi, pig face! Where do you think you're going?" Five boys were blocking my way. When I tried to ignore them, one of them pushed me roughly and I fell. Another took the opportunity to step on my hand and I swallowed my cry. I would not give them the satisfaction of bullying me. More people surrounded me at this time, but nobody stopped them. They were whispering and pointing at me, as if I were an exhibition instead of a human being. I hated them so much. The biggest bully kicked me in the stomach and...

...I woke up in pain. My forehead was drenched with sweat. I looked at the snoring boy next to me. Amin was fast asleep and he punched me in the stomach as he tossed around. I breathed a sigh of relief. The nightmare was over. I was never going to see those bullies anymore. When I was still lost in my own thought, a siren was sounded. It was time to get up.

Amin stretched and flashed me a wide grin. We quickly got out of the tent and gathered for headcount. It was the second day of my first ever school camp. Yesterday passed in a blur. We went to the camping site by a rented bus and upon reaching there, we set up our sleeping tent before we were fed our lunch. Then, we had some fun activities prepared by the instructors there such as flying fox and archery. I was screaming my lungs out during flying fox as I was acrophobia, but it was an experience I would never forget. My friends were impressed with my archery skill. I'd hit the bullseye every time. Even the instructors could barely score once. However, I knew we would have even more interesting activities today provided if the weather was clear and sunny.

The jungle trekking took 2 hours before we reached the waterfall. It was exhausting as my stamina was really weak, but Amin and the rest encouraged me, giving me the motivation to go on. We heard the sound of running water before the waterfall came into view. It was cooling and refreshing to soak our worn-out feet in the water. Amin even washed his face and then realised in horror that he was at downstream and the water he used to wash his face could be mixed with our feet's odour. In a moment of panic, he washed his face again with - you know it - the same water from the exact same spot. We were laughing until our sides ached.

After resting, the instructors told us to wade across the stream so we would hike around the waterfall. Being a klutz, I slipped and fell as we were crossing the stream. Thankfully, Amin caught me before I was being flushed away by the running water. Unfortunately, I scraped my knees, but it didn't affect me much. One of the teachers checked my wound and found out I had scars and old bruises on my body. Everybody was shocked to hear what had happened to me in my previous school. We continued the rest of the journey back to the camping site in solemn silence.

I was hiding inside the tent afterwards. It was until nightfall when the smell of the barbequed food enticed me to leave my safe haven. I avoided eye contact with everyone as I made a beeline towards the grill. Suddenly, someone shoved a plate of food at me. It was Amin. I stared at the food and realised they were all my favourite. I heard the strumming of a guitar. My form teacher was playing the guitar while the rest of my classmates were singing around the campfire. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the lyrics.

"You are not alone, for I am here with you~"

Once they had finished their song, they gathered around me and we had a group hug. It was a memorable camping experience for me. I was reborn. Everybody accepted me for who I was regardless of my past. I had a blast!

Ice Cream

She couldn't believe that she would be hospitalised for the next two weeks. Tears escaped from the corner of her eyes. Alone - curled up on the bed - with scars and injuries everywhere, she knew nothing would be the same anymore.

    It was her fault, really. She was supposed to return home from school immediately, but she couldn't help it. Freedom tasted sweet. She thought, spending some me-time somewhere would be alright as long as nobody knew about it. Of course, nobody would know. By the time her parents found out about her disappearance, she had been missing for more than 18 hours. It didn't mean that they were irresponsible. Her father is a chief inspector, who got caught up in - the irony! - missing children investigation. Her mother is a heart surgeon in general hospital, and she had just finished her on-call duty.

    When she got home, she went to check on her daughter, but her bed was empty. It was a Saturday, she was supposed to sleep in. She took out her phone and called her. Nobody answered. Her last online on WhatsApp was yesterday at 14:08. Her heart skipped a beat. She dialed her husband's number instead. He didn't answer either. She supposed he was busy with his case. Almost immediately, her phone rang. It was the hospital.

***

    First, she stopped by a cafe for lunch. She would take pictures of her food and check in her whereabouts on Instagram. That was something usual she did, a common thing majority of her friends did, to update everything on social media. Her father warned her before, not to share anything on a real-time basis as followers might be able to stalk her. She never really bothered.

    After she had finished her food, a message popped up in her Instagram. It was a picture of her, taken from the back. She turned around. A man who wore a dark green cap was sitting at the table right behind her. He smiled. His teeth were pearly white, but that was it. She couldn't see the rest of his face. He then stood up and walked over to her.

    "Would you like to have ice cream?" he asked. "My treat."

    She finally saw his face - he was really good-looking. Without thinking, she agreed and left with him. He led her towards an old building and alarm started going off in her head. She was having second thoughts as she stopped in her tracks and tried to come up with an excuse to get away. Before she could think of anything, he grabbed her arm and shoved her roughly into a doorway. She screamed aloud. He slapped her hard across the face, pinned her against the wall and wrapped his fingers around her throat. She choked, trying to pry off his fingers so she could get enough oxygen into her lungs. Then, he released his hold on her. She slid helplessly onto the floor, inhaling as hard as she could.

    "Time for dessert."

 ***

KOALE LOMPUR - A teenage girl, 17, was brought to an abandoned building before she was severely beaten up and then raped. It was suspected that the rapist stalked her social media and marked her as his victim because she was usually alone. Police urged adolescents not to update real-time location on social networking sites as this may promote themselves as easy target for the assailants to assault them - be it robbery, kidnapping or even rape.